Analytical approach to technologies for the environment: from wastewater aeration to energy production

This thesis started in March 2012 from Financial support of ''Provincia di Macerata'', ''Camera di Commercio'', ''Confindustria della Provincia di Macerata'' and University of Camerino in according with Faggiolati Pumps S.p.a. company. The research activity was partially carried out at Faggiolati Pumps company, University of Camerino in the School of Science and Technology, and at University of Nottingham, School of Chemistry. The structure of this PhD thesis is divided in two Sections. In the Section 1, entitled ''PERFORMANCE EVALUATION WASTEWATER AERATION SYSTEM, are present three Chapters. After a general introduction in Chapter 1, in Chapter 2 are reported all the results request to Project with Faggiolati Pumps S.p.a., regarding an accurate evaluation of thermodynamic and kinetics aspects in the water oxygenation process necessary for the optimization of a laboratory prototype (designed for this study) to simulate what happens in OSSI-MIX aerator produced by the company. In Chapter 3, are studied the effects of the addition in clean water of three types of chloride salts as LiCl, NaCl and KCl on the water oxygenation process by using the designed laboratory prototype. In the Section 2, entitled DYE-SENSITISED SOLAR CELL: ABSORPTION, KINETICS AND IMPROVING PERFORMANCE STUDIES OF DSSCs DEVICES, are present four Chapters. After a general introduction in Chapter 4, in Chapter 5 are described equilibrium and kinetic aspects in the sensitization of monolayer transparent TiO2 thin films with porphyrin dyes for DSSC applications. Chapter 6 reports the study of porphyrins functionalized multiwall carbon nanotubes and their interaction with TiO2 nanoparticles surface while in Chapter 7 are reported the results of Ni-Mg mixed metal oxides used for p-type dye-sensitized solar cells.